


Those Who Suffer

by grape_flavored_ruku



Category: Adventures in Odyssey
Genre: And found this, F/M, I was cleaning out Google Docs, Still working on the other fics don't worry, and I literally don't remember writing this, but you can have it, there was no attempt at editing after I found the doc again so
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-29
Updated: 2020-10-29
Packaged: 2021-03-09 03:00:30
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,308
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27267619
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/grape_flavored_ruku/pseuds/grape_flavored_ruku
Summary: "Those who suffer from amnesia often experience drastic mood swings."
Relationships: Eugene/Katrina
Comments: 2
Kudos: 3





	Those Who Suffer

“But Doctor, we  _ must  _ do it!”

Katrina pulled on Eugene’s arm as he stepped towards Dr. Foster.

Dr. Foster crossed his arms. “We  _ won’t _ do it, Eugene, we have a set level that we believe is safe, and we  _ won’t _ go over that!” His voice rose to match Eugene’s. 

“Then there’s little point in this entire experiment if you’re going to- to  _ tickle _ my brain!”

“But Eugene, you should listen to the doctor!” Katrina firmly tugged on his arm.

“You want us to be reckless, and we simply won’t do it.” Dr. Foster shook his head. “Besides, it’s too much of a strain-”

“And as the  _ patient, _ I must insist for greater measures!”

“-as a scientist, you  _ must _ understand that!

“But the-”

Whit jumped in with a stern look. “Now, what’s going on here?”

“You talk to him, he’s your friend.” Dr. Foster disgustedly withdrew. 

“Eugene, what’s wrong?”

“It didn’t work, Mr. Whittaker. That’s what’s wrong!”

“Calm down, Eugene!” Katrina hovered close as he began to breathe heavily.

“What didn’t work?”

“Whatever you were doing- it wasn’t enough!”

Whit groaned. 

“Connie, Katrina, Bernard-” Eugene gestured wildly around the room, all three experienced full and vivid memories of my life. But I only had a- a vague sense of déjà vu!”

Bernard raised an eyebrow. “You thought you were a car?”

Whit shook his head in confusion. “What do you mean, Eugene?”

“I had a- a nagging sense of memory, but without the memory.” His eyes suddenly lit up. “Like a word that’s right on the tip of your tongue but you can’t think of it!”

Whit nodded, still frowning. “Yeah, I see.”

Dr. Foster broke in. “He wants us to give him all the memories at once.”

Eugene gestured broadly. “Yes,  _ yes! _ If we’re going to do this, then let’s do it  _ seriously! _ ”

Whit put a hand to his forehead. “Eugene-”

Eugene waved at him. “No- no- Mr. Whittaker, I want you to  _ blast _ me,-”

“No!” Katrina practically yelled at him.

“-turn up the volume-”

Whit grunted as his eyebrows drew down further.

“-kick down the proverbial door to my memory, use whatever colloquialism you prefer-”

Dr. Foster shook his head. “It’s not possible.”

“-but I’m weary of all this- this mere  _ tinkering! _ ”

Whit held up his hands. “ _ Eugene _ , it’s  _ too dangerous _ .”

Now it was Eugene’s turn to look exasperated. 

“We chose levels that we knew would be acceptable-”

“No.”

“-that worked on me and Dr. Foster-”

“ _ No _ Mr. Whittaker, you miscalculated! Those levels worked for you and Dr. Foster because you already have a  _ shared _ memory of an experience.” Eugene put a hand on his chest. “I don’t have those shared memories. And it must be obvious to you that small dosages are  _ not working! _ You must increase the-” his hand went to his forehead. “The levels-” he cut himself off with a groan.

“Eugene, what’s wrong?”

“A slight headache.” He cast an angry eye across the room to Whit and Dr. Foster. “ _ Little wonder _ when I have to through-” another pang shot through his forehead, “-through all this  _ nonsense _ .”

“Eugene, there’s no need to be rude, everyone’s doing their best!”

“Hah,” Eugene hissed through his teeth, “ _ not quite _ .”

“I think we should go.”

“Yes we should. This is a- a  _ waste  _ of time.” He gave Whit one last appraising glance before turning on his heel. “Good day, all.”

As he opened the door to the Bible room, he heard Katrina linger behind him. “I’m… sorry, everyone.”

He left the door open for her as he exited the room, headache spreading through the front of his head and behind his eyes. “Ugh.” He walked down the hall and carefully held onto the hand rail for the stairs.

“Eugene.” Katrina closed the door behind her and descended the stairs close behind. “You didn’t have to lash out like that.”

He didn’t answer, and instead rounded the stairs and headed for the back door. 

He opened it and let the crisp spring air flow into the building. Taking a cleansing breath, he headed to the Saturn that, he'd been told, had been in storage ever since he fled Odyssey. 

He automatically climbed into the passenger's seat, adjusted as far back as it would go to accommodate his long legs. 

He leaned his head against the window and rocked back and forth, watching the sparrows on the curb fight over a stray worm. 

Katrina opened the driver's side door. "Eugene?"

He still didn't answer, knowing full well that she'd drive to the cabin up at Trickle Lake. 

She slid into the driver's seat. 

One of the sparrows severed the head of the worm. 

The car started. 

Eugene's gut tightened as he thought about Whit. 

"He's doing his best." Katrina quietly edged in on his thoughts. "I wish you'd have more grace towards them."

"He has more tools at his disposal and he  _ won't use them. _ " Eugene picked at his seat belt. "He's shown his true colors, so to speak. He is nothing more than a  _ tinkerer _ who has found a suitable test subject."

"You know that's not true!"

He lapsed into silence, watching the vehicles on the road, the citizens of Odyssey within them going about their respective days without a care in the world. 

He  _ did _ know the words he threw out had no basis in reality. Mr. Whittaker had been so kind and gone so far as to make living arrangements and keep their whereabouts a secret from the outside world- and from this mysterious "Novacom" entity that Katrina and Mr. Whittaker constantly whispered about. 

If it wasn't true, then why did he say it? Was he really being ruled by emotions so much as to accuse these people of something they didn't do? 

His heart began to ache as he thought of his "new" friends staring at him. Mr. Whittaker had seemed hurt. Connie had stared with her jaw hanging slack. Mr. Walton looked torn between glee and worry. Mr. Riley had shaken his head as if he'd known this would happen. 

And Katrina… Katrina had apologized for him and then followed him out. This woman he barely knew, he felt, yet she offered her companionship without question- not just as a  _ wife,  _ but as a loyal friend. 

He glanced in her direction. She was focused on the road, her lips curved in a frown as she navigated the curvy road carved into the hills below Trickle Lake. 

His headache only strained into his ears as he shifted uncomfortably, his chest tightening with every passing realization that,  _ indeed _ , emotions were taking control of him,  _ him,  _ Eugene Meltsner!

As they rounded the next corner, Eugene sighed and offered a slight bit of penance for his actions. "I… apologize, Katrina."

He hadn't realized how tense the silence had become until he'd broken it. 

Katrina tilted her head, but wisely kept her eyes on the road. 

Eugene cautiously continued. "I don't believe I deserve you. Judging from the past I've been told about, I never have…"

"Stop." Katrina jerked the wheel a little as they rolled up to the gate of the rustic neighborhood. She met his eyes for a brief second. "I've never regretted a single moment with you, Eugene."

"Even-"

" _ Even  _ today." She pulled into the driveway and turned off the car. 

They sat for a moment, Katrina clearly restraining some kind of emotion and Eugene unwilling to rock the proverbial boat. 

"I'm not going to pretend this isn't hard, Eugene." She finally gazed at him with those piercing gray eyes. "It's the hardest thing I've ever gone through. I don't know if you'll get your memory back…" she looked away and swallowed hard. "But- I'll always be committed to you."

At that moment, a fire rose through his chest. Mr. Whittaker  _ was  _ wrong. 

He'd get his memories back. If only for Katrina. 

  
And he'd do it _ tonight.  _


End file.
